So a big news came out of the world of physics recently: gravitational waves have been detected. The implications are massive in terms of how we view the fabric of spacetime (it's more like a pool of water than some stretchy 'fabric').

As a tribute, we're not going for the usual article, but a poetic ode. Something this beautiful demands it.

Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, first-rate military tactician, as well as a gunner by training. And, not known by many, a mathematical wizard - which may explain his success.

But what does this have to do with chemistry? Everything.

We came to understand more about the universe during the 19th century than in the 200,000 years of modern human existence. Rightly we should be proud of our achievements.

But by having our heads turned, we may lose sight of what lies ahead.

As ingenious as we are, humanity cannot escape the limits that physics have set upon in its laws. For a time at least. In this second part of the series on mechanical power, we will discover how human ingenuity games the laws of nature.

The limits are there, we just need to sidestep it with some clever thinking.

The electron. The first subatomic particle to be discovered, and much of it is thanks due to the developments in electrical engineering during the Industrial Revolution. But proving something that can't be seen is hard, an extraordinary amount of evidence was required.

​And how extraordinary it was!